Fresh Ink New Books Out Today January 15, 2013

Fresh Ink New Books Out Today January 15, 2013 Its a nonfictionpalooza this week! Best Sex  Writing 2013: The State of Todays Sexual Culture edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel  (Cleis Press) If the only sex-related pieces youve read latelyor, gasp, everwere about Fifty Shades of Grey, youve got some catching up to do! Start with this annual anthology, which brings together the best essays about sexuality and sexual culture. Judged by Dr. Carol Queen and edited by Rachel Kramer Busseltwo rad women who know from sex writingthis collection looks thought-provoking and fun. Variety being the spice of life, it presents a wide range of topics and perspectives; you might not like them all, but youre bound to love something. While I havent read this years collection just yet (reviewers, too, must sometimes wait for actual publication dates), Ive found the previous installments to do be thoroughly satisfying and filled with Oh, I never thought of that! moments. Friendfluence: The Surprising Ways Friends Make Us Who We Are by Carlin Flora (Doubleday) I was first alerted to this book when fellow Rioter Kim featured it in a list of  books about friendship last month. She recommended it for science nerds, fans of narrative nonfiction, living room sociologists, and I thought, I am all of those things! If you are too, take note. It seems were in a season of  books about friendshipIve recently read and adored Julie Klams Friendkeeping  [reviewed here] and Susanna Sonnenbergs memoir-in-friendships She Matters [reviewed here]and Carlin Flora adds depth the personal stories by presenting a scientific look at why we have friends and how they influence our personalities and behaviors. This is my  favorite kind of nonfiction; its engaging, not stuffy, and directly related to things we all experience in our daily lives. Oh, and it will give you tons of fun facts to spout off at dinner parties, or the next time you need to drive your partner mad with a case of the Did-You-Knows. The Mistress Contract by She and He (Unbridled  Books, now in paperback) Their  relationship began in 1981. It began with a contract. She suggested it, agreeing to provide her lover with housekeeping, companionship, and sexual services, while He agreed to give her a separate home (he was married, living with his wife and children at the time they began) and cover her expenses. Their affair continue through several decades, as they recorded themselves discussing their  relationship and the shifting power and sexual dynamics that defined it. This book presents the transcripts of those conversations, and they are nothing short of fascinating. She and He quarrel about her reluctance to tell him what she wants in bed. They wonder if their  relationship is revolutionary, or really quite traditional. The talk about feminism, and choice, and how this arrangement of theirs is something other than prostitution. They love each other. They age together. They are tender and passionate in private, careful to be discreet in public. They know they have chosen to do something that most consider wrong, and many wouldnt consider at all, and with this memoir, they attempt to put it in context. This is a challenging and provocative read that raises more questions than it answers. It sheds light on one unconventional  relationship, affording readers the opportunity to consider how changes they might make (or dream of making) in their own and inviting deeper deliberation about the organization, construction, and restrictions of committed  relationships in todays society. I loved this when I first read it in 2011, and I appreciated it even more upon rereading. Highly recommended. Sign up for True Story to receive nonfiction news, new releases, and must-read forthcoming titles. Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox.